Stocking



(N0 Model.)

- E. H. RUS SELL.

STOCKING, HOSE AND SLEEVE SUPPORTBR. No. 249,261. Patented No'v. 8,1881.

UNITED STATES PATENT ()FFIGE. I

ELIJAH H. RUSSELL, on CHICAGO, ILLI OIS.

STOCKING, HOSE, AND SLEEVE SUPPORTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 249,261, dated November 8, 1881.

Application filed August 13, 1881. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ELIJAH II. RUssELL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Ohicago,'in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Stocking, Hose, and Sleeve Supporters; and I hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, of which-- Figure l is a side view of a leg with my device attached as a stocking-supporter; and Fig. 2, a sectional view of my device, showing the stay.

My invention is in the nature of an improvement upon those supporters in which an elastic fibrous band is provided with a clasp at each endone to grasp the fabric to be supported, and the other, by means of teeth, to grasp the elastic band itself, and thus form a loop around the limb of the wearer-my object being to produce a device which shall'be more comfortable to the wearer and more convenient in the matter of regulation and adjustment to the exact length required than those above referred to.

To this end my invention consists in forming the supporter of asingle helical wire spring provided at one end witha clasp adapted to grasp and hold. the fabric to be sustained, and provided at the other end with a clasp adapted to receive and wholly or in part to encompass the wire spring, whereby the latter may be doubled upon itself and inserted in the lastnamed clasp to form a loop to encircle the limb of the wearer, all as hereinafter more fully set forth.

In the drawings, A is a coiled wire spring, containing a stay in the form of an internal slack non-elastic cord, 1;, secured at each end of the spring, to prevent the stretching of the same beyond the limit of its elasticity. I make no claim to the stay, however, for I am well aware that it is old, having been used for analogous purposes (as a band for pocket-books, for example) for the past thirty years or more.

B is a clasp at one end of the spring A, for the purpose of grasping and holding the fabric. This clasp may be of any 'kind adapted to effect the desired object; butI prefer to employ the well-known form shown in the drawings. No particular description of this clasp is necessary here, as it is fully described in Letters Patentof the United States No. 202,924, dated April 30, 1878.

O is a clasp at the end of the spring A, opposite to the clasp B, and of a construction similar to the latter, except that the teeth are omitted and the outer ends, a, curved toward each other, as shown, to adapt them wholly or in part to encompass the spring A when it is inserted within them, and, by reason of'the spring t, to retain it in place against any tendency to escape in a lateral direction. To insert or remove the spring A pressure is exerted upon the thumb-piece s of the clasp 0, thereby separating the ends a to a sufficient extent for the required purpose.

To apply the above-described supporter to a mans sock the clasp B is first attached to the top of the sock, and then the portion ter-' minating in the clasp 0 passed around the leg, above the largest part of the calf, and the body of the spring inserted within the said clasp, as shown.

To apply the device as a sleeve-supporter the loop around the arm should be formed below the point at which the fabric is grasped by the clasp B.

To adjust the supporter to just the proper length it is only necessary slightly to loosen the clasp O by pressure of the thumb and allow it to slide along the spring. The proper length being reached, the clasp is released, when it holds the'sprin g firmly. This matter of adjustment has heretofore been one causing some difficulty and annoyance.

Care should be taken not to stretch the coiled spring in short lengths, but always, when spoiled. No such accident, however, can ever upon the opposite end of the spring, having 10 occur in the ordinary and proper use of the its outer ends curved toward each other, thus device. forming, when closed, a tubular eye to receive What I claim as new, and desire to secure and hold the spring, substantially as described.- by Letters Patent, 1s- ELIJAH H. RUSSELL In a stocking, hose, or sleeve supporter, the I combination, with the coiled spring A, of a, In presence of clasp upon one end of the spring, adapted to WM. H. DYRENFORTH, grasp and hold the fabric, and the clasp O HORATIO ANDERSON. 

